Religious and human rights groups are applauding a European court decision that ruled governments must grant a fair evaluation of Christian converts before they are denied asylum and sent back to Iran.

Mohabat News _ This week, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of F.G vs. Sweden that the Swedish government would be violating Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protect life and safeguard against inhumane treatment if it deported the applicant.

“The lower chamber (of the court) underestimated the severe danger to this convert’s life,” Robert Clarke, director of European Advocacy for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, told the Catholic News Agency (CNA).

“The Grand Chamber rightly noted that Christian converts are one of the most persecuted religious minorities in Iran. Moreover, the Islamic regime governing Iran has systematic mechanisms in place to identify all Christian converts – even those practicing in secret,” Clarke added.

Roger Severino, director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation, said: “Asylum should be granted to individuals who are being persecuted and fear for their lives because of converting to a different religion.

“Iran’s anti-conversion laws violate the fundamental human right to be able to choose your own religion and live out your beliefs, which includes the right to change your religion without the government threatening imprisonment or in the case of Iran, death for apostasy,” he told CNA.

In 2009, an Iranian citizen reportedly applied for asylum and a resident permit in Sweden after suffering political persecution. Two years later, the Swedish Migration Office denied his request, which he appealed.

The lower chamber of the court ruled in January 2014 that Sweden’s denial was “justified” because the applicant’s life was reportedly not in jeopardy since Iranian authorities were unaware of his conversion and he could keep his faith private.

The ADF, however, filed a brief on behalf of the Iranian citizen with the European Human Court of Human Rights, arguing that the lower court’s decision “violated his religious freedom” and that converts to Christianity face numerous threats in Iran.

The judgment states: “The applicant’s conversion to Christianity is a criminal offence punishable by death in Iran. In addition to the risk of social persecution as a Christian, the applicant risks criminal prosecution for the crime of apostasy. The order for the applicant’s deportation to Iran, where he could be tried under the above-mentioned criminal and procedural law, equates to a violation of principles deeply enshrined in the universal legal conscience.”

Iran ranked as the ninth worst country for Christian persecution. It considers conversion from Islam a crime punishable by death.

Clarke warned that if a convert to Christianity is identified by the Iranian government, he or she is very likely “to suffer substantial harm, deprivation of liberty, assaults and continual harassment. In the worst case the individual could face severe ill-treatment or death.”

In its 2014 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department indicated that “Christians, particularly evangelicals, continued to experience disproportionate levels of arrests and high levels of harassment and surveillance.”

The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran also reported “that authorities held at least 49 Protestant Christians in custody, many for involvement in informal house churches,” according to CNA. /.Christian today

(Voice of the Persecuted) In faith, we know GOD has amazing plans for us for His Kingdom purposes. He’s on the move! Today, let’s us…

CONTACT US- voice4thepersecuted@gmail.com

Terms of use – All rights reserved.

The use of any material or its part from this website and quoting in mass media requires appropriate credit and a link to the Voice of the Persecuted page where the information was taken.

The articles and replies from commenters published on this site do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors, or that of Voice of the Persecuted, or of other contributing authors on this site. Voice of the Persecuted also reserves the right not to publish replies to articles should they so choose.

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of persecution, religious freedom, freedom of worship, human rights and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

CONTENT DISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in the media, articles or comments on this site are those of the speakers or authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by the Editors, Voice of the Persecuted, or of other contributing authors on this site.

The editorial staff oversee and administer the site pursuant to our editorial criteria. However, due to the social nature of this site, Voice of the Persecuted cannot be held accountable for the content in the web community.

Voice of the Persecuted strives to bring you truthful, accurate news reports and information. However, we do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information obtained by outside links, authors, or comments added by our audience. If you have a complaint about something you have found on this web site, please contact us.

Note:

VOP is endorsed by the State of Michigan. 501(c) 3 status for Voice of the Persecuted Inc. has not yet been received. You will be notified of exemption approval.
Thank you for supporting the work of our organization through this process. For more information, please contact us at info@voiceofthepersecuted.org